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UPPER DUBLIN 59, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 52
Drew Stover had another big night, scoring all 21 of his points over the final three quarters to help lead the Flying Cardinals to the important win.
“It was very good for us to get a win tonight,” UD coach Chris Monahan said. “One of my assistants and I were talking after the game about when you’re winning a lot, how much you take wins for granted – even though winning is hard. But when you’re losing, like we have been for the past few games, wins feel great. So I’m happy for our guys to get back to that feeling.”
Both teams struggled to get untracked in the opening quarter that saw the Cardinals hold a 7-4 edge. The Lions outscored the Cardinals 19-16 in the second quarter to send the two teams into halftime deadlock 23-23. Stover had eight points to lead UD in the half.
The Cardinals seized control with a 19-point third quarter that included six points from both Stover and Amare Johnson. They took a 42-30 lead into the final quarter and held on for the win.
“New Hope is well organized and they play hard,” Monahan said. “Bazel Brady did a great job against their leading scorer – Alex Walinski. The first and third quarters were very good for us defensively.
“We had lapses in the second, where we let them hang around, but after a poor defensive start in the third, we really dug in and got stops. That got our offense going with inside stuff for Drew that led to outside opportunities for Amare (Johnson) and Jason (Williams).”
Johnson added 11 points, which included three 3s, and Williams also had 11 points – nine in the second half. Will Mead chipped in seven points.
“Jason had an impressive bounce-back game, scoring double digits and running the offense one night after he wasn’t able to play in the second half of the PW game because he was sick,” Monahan said of Williams. “New Hope made a run in the fourth quarter, but we were able to get enough stops and we closed the game by shooting 9-12 from the line.”
Upper Dublin (9-11, 3-9 SOL) will host crosstown rival Wissahickon for Tuesday’s Senior Night contest that will honor the team’s four seniors.
Game Summary brought to you by
Upper Dublin 7-16-19-17 59
New Hope-Solebury 4-19-7-22 52
Upper Dublin (59) – Jason Williams 3 4-4 11; Bazel Brady 2 0-1 4; Drew Stover 8 5-8 21; Will Mead 3 1-2 7; Amare Johnson 4 0-1 11; Aidan Pullian 2 1-3 5; Totals 22 11-19 59.
New Hope-Solebury (52) – Mike Borys 5 0-0 1; Kyle McLaughlin 10 1-2 22; Alex Walinski 3 2-2 11; Phil Weinseimer 1 0-0 2; Bryan Dougherty 1 0-0 2; Kyle Sullivan 2 0-0 4; Totals 22 3-4 52.
3-point goals: UD – Amare Johnson 3, Jason Williams, NHS – Alex Walinski 3. Miky Borys, Kyle McLaughlin.